Belk Stores Decide to Allow Salvation Army Bell-ringers after All

After an outcry from customers, Belk department stores have reversed their decision to ban Salvation Army bell ringers this holiday season.

Conservative political commentator Todd Starnes previously reported that Belk had banned the Salvation Army bell ringers. The decision was expected to impact the Salvation Army with a $1 million loss.

Belk had planned to replace the bell ringers with a “social impact program.”

Customers soon began responding to Belk’s decision, posting on Facebook and Twitter their disapproval and criticism, and calling on Belk to bring the bell ringers back.

“We believe that a lot of Belk’s customers align with the Salvation Army’s views. We believe in saying ‘Merry Christmas’ because we believe Jesus is absolutely the reason for the season,” Lt. Rob Dolby, of the Salvation Army, told Starnes.

Following the outcry from customers, Belk reversed their decision, and a company spokesperson stated that the Salvation Army is “always going to be a part of our community strategy in the future.”

“During the process of making that commitment even stronger with our home for the Holidays campaign, we mistakenly left out the Salvation Army at some of our stores, the spokesperson continued. “We have fixed that as we know our customers are passionate about the Salvation Army.”